Foghat

How fortunate for Adam Lambert. After suffering through a stunning Bottom 2 comedown, he returned to the “American Idol” stage on a night that seemed custom-built for him.

Not only did he dominate the stage with Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” and a rousing duet with Allison Iraheta on Foghat’s “Slow Ride,” he watched as all the other contestants appeared to channel him.

Kris, Allison and especially Danny let loose their inner Adam and did a bit of their own screeching. But the attempt to match Adam’s leather- lung power esstentially took them out of their games.

What did you think of tonight’s performances? Who got in touch with their inner rock god?

And be sure to join us for our chat at noon May 14. Join us at ContraCostaTimes.com or InsideBayArea.com

Now here’s what our panel thought of the night.

Althea Battle: Catch Adam if you can! He is so far ahead of the other Idols, until I agree with Simon, “nobody can top him tonight!” His vocals were powerful, and when he sings; he demands your attention! I’m not to impressed with Danny and Kris’ duet. Danny out singed Kris, and he totally upstaged him throughout the whole performance. I can appreciate the both of them doing something different for the first time on the show, and their harmony was on pitch.

Danny is still on top in my book. However, when screamed at the end of the song, it sounded like he burned his hand on a hot skillet, and held it for too long! Danny should have picked more of a ballard type of rock song, and that would have kept him for falling to the bottom.

Meanwhile, Allison didn’t show her originality this week at all in her solo performance. All I can remember about her is hearing “cry baby” over and over. I liked her duet with Adam and she was more orginal in the second song choice over the first one. She is a much better singer than that, and I hope her song choice doesn’t land her in the bottom. No matter how many times Kris sings tonight, he’s just not one of my favorites. Rock is out of Kris’ league, and he may not be safe this week!

Collen Gonzalez: Why did they call it “Rock Night?” They should have just called it “Adam Night.” Adam Lambert owned that stage! The night belonged to him. He was completely in the zone, looking glammed-up to the max.

Danny Gokey took the biggest risk of the night, and he’s definitely going to need his fan base to save him after that. That was not musical screaming; it was just blood curdling screaming. I hope the judges feel bad about ripping into Kris after Danny made everyone’s ears bleed. What I will say, to Danny’s credit, he’s here to win.

Kris Allen’s performance was passionate and impressive. I was totally feeling it and thought he did a fantastic job. I think the judges want him out and would never say he was good no matter what he did. All in all, it’s not fair to send Kris packing just because it was not a favorable genre for him. He was able to sift out what would work for his voice and a song he could connect with.

I would like to give a personal thank you to Allison Iraheta for not singing “Piece of My Heart.” That has been done so many times on “Idol” it should be retired. Her vocals were strong, but I would’ve liked to see her command the stage like she did singing with Adam. Maybe Adam just brings out the rocker in all of us!

I thought Kris would nab that number three spot but here’s how it’s going to go down: Allison secured her spot by her duet with Adam, Danny’s phone banks will go crazy because his fans should be fearful and Kris will just be left out. Don’t worry Kris, you’ll be fine out on your own. Chat up Chris Daughtry tomorrow night for some pointers.

Carrie Hults: Rock night came at the perfect time to keep Allison and Adam in the competition. I was very happy when Ryan Seacrest said that the contestants would be singing with each other. I first thought, ‘Adam will be with Allison,’ and I was correct. Allison and Adam sang, “Slow Ride.” They totally rocked it! A perfect duet. Kris and Danny sang, “Renegade,” and I agreed with the judges that the harmonies sounded hot.

The beginning of Danny’s solo performance of “Dream On” was OK, but the ending sounded like a cat dying very painfully. I still like Danny, but he needs to watch his song choices.

Adam sounded like a pro when he sang, “Whole Lotta Love,” but the eye make up is just way too much.

Allison sang, “Cry Baby,” and she is a natural rocker. I disagreed with Randy when he said that she didn’t choose the right song. I love how she stood up to the judges too. She was feisty!

Kris gave “TMI” when he said that he was going to pee in his pants because Slash was right in front of him. He sang “Come Together.” He tried his best, but ‘Kris is 2 cute 2 b a roxstar!’ It was an awesome night, but I think that Kris needs to pack his bags. He’s going home.

Eddie Estrada: Getting ready for rock n roll night, I was expecting a lot out of Allison and Adam, worrying about Kris, and not even caring about Karaoke Gokey.

I really enjoyed the new duet part of the show and was not even a little bit surprised about the pairings. Adam and Allison were the PERFECT duo! They complemented each other so well, and I was having a great time standing up dancing to their song (while my younger sister was yelling at me to sit down). If they make it to the finals together, this is just a tiny taste of what we will be enjoying!

Together, Kris and Danny sounded amazing but separate, I wasn’t so sure. For me, Kris outshined Danny in this performance, I don’t care what Simon said! Danny just seemed like didn’t care, and that he was struggling.

OK now for the personal performances. Allison was beautiful. SO GOOD! She really brought it tonight. She met my expectations and even exceeded them.

Danny (or Karaoke Gokey as I call him now) sounded almost identical to the original song. The only difference was that he was WAY worse! He was pitchy and screamy and it literally made me cringe. He was horrible.

Adam did very well tonight, but for the first time, I don’t think that was his best song choice. I was looking for something a little different from what he did, but he still amazed me. He had the rock vibe flowing through his body, but the song vibe was not flowing through mine.

Kris was so good! Perfect song choice. He must have a cheat sheet that he looks at to pick his songs each week because they are always right on. I was nervous but I hope that America will see what I saw and keep him here for another week. My hope for tomorrow is GOODBYE DANNY!

Tom Hart: Advantage: ADAM! He actually sounded better than the original. I’ve run out of superlatives to describe the indelible mark he is leaving on the “American Idol” stage.

Alison not only sounded like an authentic queen of rock but thanks to Adam’s hairstylist she looked the part too!

Kris picked a good song for him but not a good song for the competition … and the reality is that he just doesn’t have the pipes to carry him to the final two.

And Danny, poor Danny, all I can say is that my cat still hasn’t come out from under the couch after hearing you desperately try to hit that nightmare of a last note. I hope America gets the vote right because there are clearly two incredible performers who are front-runners and two other likeable singers who are visibly fading down the home stretch.